Mobile Suit Gundam: Shadow Warriors
by Dendrobium Stamen
Summary: Original timeline, roughly close to UC. "Shadow Warriors" documents a war between the Earth Federation and League of Free Colonies in the Post Colonial Age...
1. Shadow Warriors Prologue

**Mobile Suit Gundam: Shadow Warriors**

**Restart**

****

**_Prologue_****__**

Over a century ago, the human population had reached nine billion, and the Earth was too overcrowded to accommodate all those it supported. World governments were dissolved as a single governing body, the Earth Federation, took control of humanity's destiny. The new administration quickly began work on its plan to manage the overwhelming number of people under its authority. The first stage was the construction of cities on Luna, multi-tiered subterranean metropolises in which millions of people could live. However, cities on the moon alone would not solve the massive overpopulation problem.

From these lunar staging grounds, the second phase began.

In cislunar space, the area within the moon's orbit with Earth at its centre, there are five areas known as 'Lagrange Points'. At these points Earth's gravity and that of Luna balance each other out to form a zone void of gravitational effects, in which an object can remain indefinitely. Within Lagrange Point 1, located roughly three-quarters of the distance between Earth and Luna, the Federation began construction of Island 3 space colonies.

These Island 3 colonies, originally designed by Gerard K. O'Neill in the 1970s comprise cylinders thirty-two kilometres long and four kilometres in diameter with three huge solar panels. When these cylinders rotate at a rate of half a turn per minute artificial gravity is produced on the inner surface. If a layer of soil is placed atop the inner wall, Earth-like habitats, including lakes, rivers, and forests can be created within the cylinder. With the colonies at L1 built, work began at L2, the point roughly parallel to L1 that always faces the 'dark side' of the moon. Work also began at L3, which remained directly parallel to Luna. To facilitate the work at distant L3, the asteroid 1 Ceres, the largest of the solar system's asteroid belt at a diameter of 970 kilometres, was moved to L3 to serve as a mining base.

Finally, the Federation began building colonies at L4 and L5. Where the two narrower points of a rhombus formed from Earth and Luna, L4 and L5 would be the points furthest apart. The new government, with its construction plan complete, now had three thousand colonies available for use, six hundred at each Lagrange Point. The move of the majority of Earth's population began.

Though they worked to save Earth from its own children, the Federation Senate declared that the upper classes of the planet, themselves naturally included, did not have to move to Luna or the colonies. They also declared that, in commemoration of the beginning of a new era for humankind, a new calendar era would be started. Thus, the Post Colonial Age was begun, starting at the year PCA 0001 and working upwards.

For the next half-century or so, humanity lived in peace. The population steadily expanded for five decades until the birth rate suddenly, and fortunately, declined. By this point the human population had reached twelve billion, nine billion of whom lived in the colonies, one billion on Luna, and two billion on Earth. But those who lived in the colonies, the so-called 'spacenoid' population, were deeply envious of those on the planet, who had put themselves above the forced space migration. The 'Earthnoid Elite' ignored the pleas of the colonies for independence from the Federation, and only increased taxes on the colonists to fill the coffers of Earth.

A drastic change in the political climate occurred in PCA 0059. The colonies of Lagrange Point 2, which were all beginning to become overcrowded, requested the Federation build new colonies, or allow some of the population to move to Earth. The Federation Senate promptly refused, which led the people of the colonies to rebel against the officials of the Federation within their colonies. At the heart of this chaos was a man known only as Kron. When the violence ended he formed a government known as the League of Free Colonies, a military dictatorship of which he was to be the premier. In a brutal policy of 'population control' the League executed millions of their own to make life more bearable to those who Kron deemed useful.

Next came the formation of a military within L2, something the Federation at this point sorely lacked. Knowing that they would be outnumbered quickly by the considerably larger Federation if they committed to a policy of warship building, the League began development of new space weapons. The development of the Minovsky fusion reactor on Luna proved of great use, as these generators could be made far smaller than a conventional fusion reactor of equivalent output, and the Minovsky particles they generated could jam all types of sensor equipment. More importantly, these particles could be fused to form mega particles, which could be used in energy-based particle beam weapons, better known as beam cannons.

In PCA 0062 the League completed its ultra-secret development project, and prepared to mass-produce their weapon. The mobile suit was born. Standing 17.5 metres tall, the humanoid weapon created was far more agile than any conventional space fighter could hope to be, and its human limbs were far more versatile, as a variety of scaled-up human infantry weapons could be carried in its hands.

The Earth Federation, which had begun rapidly forming their own armed force soon after the breakaway of L2, learned of the existence of the mobile suit three years later, and began developing their own. Despite the clear superiority of the mobile suit, the admiralty of the Earth Federation Space Forces saw them as a gimmick, flies to be swatted by the ships being produced under their 'big ship, big gun' strategy. The Federation's mobile suit, the RGM-66 Fearless, began limited mass-production in PCA 0066, but only as a backup for the warship forces.

A decade of 'cold war' followed, as both sides built up for the inevitable war. The Federation converted 1 Ceres from a mine to a fortress, and used it to produce vast numbers of their _Salamis_ cruisers and _Magellan_ battleships, as well as limited numbers of Fearless mobile suits and the _Pegasus_ assault carriers built to take them to the battlefields. The League negotiated with local authorities for control of the 'dark side' lunar metropolis of Lake Aldrin, which quickly became their key military base and production location for the LM/MS-04B Wolf and the _Musai_ cruisers built to carry and support them.

In 0077 and 0078 both sides began upgrading their fleets. The Federation developed and began an intensified production of the new model RGM-78 Titan and numerous mission-specific variations, as the League developed the successor to the Wolf, the LM/MS-06C Rhino. Tensions rose and nerves frayed on both sides, but they had little time left to wait.

On December 19th, PCA 0079, the League gave its official declaration of war. The League Fleet was mobilised within minutes, launching attacks on the Earth Federation Space Forces' colony garrisons at Lagrange points Four and Five. The battles were inconclusive, as the Titans and Rhinos were too equally matched to be decisive in combat operations. The 'big gun' warships, in which the Federation had placed its faith, proved useless. The opening battle a stalemate, both sides prepared to intensify their attacks on the other.

Four days later, the League First Combined Fleet approaches Luna II, intent on striking the EFSF at its heart before Ceres Fleet can leave port...


	2. Chapter One: The Beast, Awakened

**_Chapter One: The Beast, Awakened_****__**

_Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base, L3 Sector._

_December 24th, PCA 0079. 1400 Hours._

The Federation's key space base was finding, first hand, how ineffective a fleet based on warships truly was against one based on mobile suits.

Since the battle was joined two hours ago, the Federation had lost eight ships, only two of which were to enemy cruisers. The League had lost none. The Titan forces that Luna II was launching, recovering and re-launching from its mobile suit gates were doing damage to the enemy forces, but simply weren't built to take centre stage in conflict. As such, twenty-six had been shot down so far, against the eleven Rhinos that had been picked off. Most of those eleven had, in fact, been taken down by the anti-air pulse lasers of Federal ships, attempting to escape a death literally at the hands of the enemy's weapons.

Mega particle beams lanced back and forth across space, red-purple ones aiming away from Luna II, yellow-green ones toward the great rock. Many of the latter simply hit the rock itself, failing to score an impact on navy-blue liveried Federal steel. The damage to that rock was of no great concern, a few chunks of the stuff would be of minimal consequence. The beams that _were_ hitting Federation ships were of quite significant consequence, as the largest permanently assembled fleet within the EFSF took losses it would find impossible to replace, if Luna II fell.

On paper this battle was reasonably simple: sixty-six of the League's _Musai_ cruisers and two _Zanzibar_ carrier battleships, bringing with them three hundred and sixty Rhinos were facing one hundred and twenty _Salamis_es and twenty _Magellan_s, supported by four hundred and eighty Titans.

Numbers didn't give a true picture, however. The skill of the League MS pilots, combined with their marginally better hardware, led to the widespread slaughter of Federal grunts, whose real function was ship defence, not intensive frontline operations.

As this battle raged on, a far greater one was about to commence quite close by…

_Space Colony L3/C-242, Lagrange Point 3 Colony Cluster._

_December 24th, PCA 0079. 1429 Hours._

"What?! Luna II is under attack, and this ship is here? What the bloody Hell is Operational Command thinking?!" exclaimed Taylor Barillas, commander of the Federation's latest warship, the assault carrier _Gabriel_, first completed of the new _Archangel_ class.

"Yes, sir." responded the communications officer. "They want the prototypes out of the way. We are to move them into the colony, where they will undergo emergency activation."

          "God Almighty… actually, that's an ironic phrase, with this ship. Alright. Mobile suit deck: move the prototypes off the ship onto the dock, and from there into the colony proper. Keep me informed of developments at Luna II."

Receiving confirmation from his officers, Barillas left the bridge of the _Gabriel_. His ship had only recently been completed at Jaburo, the subterranean Federation Central Headquarters, located at the Amazon Basin in Brazil. It had been built as the prototype for a new class of mobile suit carriers, developed alongside four new prototype mobile suits, built to test technologies for a new mass-production line, far superior to the League's Rhino model. The launch of the _Gabriel_ from Jaburo, to ship the prototypes off to Luna II for space trials had been diverted to the L3/C-242 colony when the attack on the asteroid base began, to protect ship and cargo from League forces.

Work went ahead carrying out the captain's orders, all conducted according to Federation conventions, despite the situation being quite a far cry from conventional. 'Unconventional' would hardly begin to describe the rest of the day.

_Bridge, League Fleet Vessel _Voracious_, Approaching L3/C-242._

_December 24th, PCA 0079. 1618 Hours._

          "They still haven't detected us?"

          "Negative, sir. All capable visual observations platforms are focused on that colony's spacedock, they can't see any activity."

          "This is too easy. That unknown new vessel must be carrying something useful, or the Feddies wouldn't be sending it up to space."

          "You think they have mobile suits on that ship? Perhaps from the rumoured 'Ranger Three Plan'?"

          "Probably. If so, we'll destroy them and their transport, the colony too if it comes to it."

          "Yes, Major."

On that rather grim note, the captain and first officer of the _Musai_ cruiser _Voracious_, leader of the Twenty-Third Hunting Company ended their discussion. Their unit was present to carry out reconnaissance, and destroy the enemy if deemed a threat. The idea of the Federation developing new mobile suits was not overly unusual; the tensions of the last few months made such development not only useful but necessary. It was the rumours of the supposed 'Ranger Three Plan' that were troublesome. According to said rumours, the Federation had built new mobile suit prototypes, which were more powerful than anything in either Federal or League arsenals at the current time. The idea was nonsense. The Federal Forces saw no real purpose for mobile suits aside from defending the hulks they called warships, they would _never_ build a mobile suit as an integral battle weapon; that was League philosophy.

          "Sir, we are in range. Do your earlier orders stand?" enquired the weapons officer of the _Voracious_.

          "They stand," replied the commander. "prepare to initiate Plan Alpha. Signal the _Berlin_ and the _Hamburg_; tell them to do the same when we begin."

Acknowledgments received from the gunner and communications officer, the ship's commander sat in his chair in the centre of the bridge, his whole crew awaiting his order.

          "Initiate Plan Alpha."

With those three simple words, history would be profoundly affected. For with them, the _Voracious_ opened fire with her four forward twin-barrelled main gun turrets, and all twelve missile launchers. The other two ships of its unit copied this manoeuvre a split second later, all three vessels targeting the spacedock of the Federation's L3/C-242 colony.

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, Docked at L3/C-242 Spacedock Berth #8._

_December 24th, PCA 0079. 1622 Hours._

          "Confirmed! Colony spacedock's main gate is taking external damage, three League cruisers are firing on us!" exclaimed the radar operator.

          "Dammit! We're carrying three Titans, for defence, aren't we? Deploy them now, full armaments!" responded Captain Barillas.

Minutes later, three Titans, equipped not only with 90mm submachine guns but also 320mm bazookas, left the colony dock via the unaffected sub-gate above the main. They made it several kilometres from the colony, and even managed to fire several rounds from their machineguns before the five Rhinos of the _Voracious_ tore them to shreds with their own 120mm rifles.

With the League's attack so ruthlessly cutting away any resistance, it would be soon they reached the _Gabriel_ itself, and then the colony. To avoid the possibility of his ship being lost before it had fired a shot, Barillas ordered it to enter the colony proper, to rendezvous with the new mobile suits and hopefully put up a fight against their opponents.

_Inside Space Colony L3/C-242, Lagrange Point 3 Colony Cluster._

_December 24th, PCA 0079.1657 Hours._

Within the colony, over one hundred Federation officers scrambled to prepare for combat within a colony, a battlefield they never thought would see bloodshed. Four Federation officers did not scramble. They wore white pilot suits with a slight trace of silver, a significant contrast to the Federation's usual tasteless yellow. The pilot suits, essentially skin-tight spacesuits, signified that they were trained as mobile suit operators. The silver-tinged white colouring indicated that they weren't piloting any old mobile suits.

On receiving word that the League mobile suits were close, the four walked towards long transport vehicles, on which were their mobile suits, laying on their backs but fully ready to fight. If a person read the words on the back of one of these trucks, they would read:

**Earth Federation Space Forces**

**RGX-79-01**

**Mobile Suit "Gundam Prototype"**

The four Gundams stood, their bodies bearing a navy blue and gray colour scheme. The pilots then pressed a button marked 'KN System' on the front panel of their cockpits, which created a drastic change. These four mobile suits, seconds before with only mere metal protecting them, were now graced with a slight luminosity, as the 'Kinetic Neutraliser' cells built into the frame came to life.

Holding their rifles in right hands, rectangular shields attached to the left forearms, the quartet of humanoid superweapons that together were the Federation's greatest prize and only real hope of victory prepared to fight.

_Seven Minutes Later._

Entering the main cylinder of space colony L3/C-242, the five elite Rhino pilots found it noticeably empty. The civilian population had evacuated before Barillas ordered the _Gabriel_ into the colony, and were now cowering in the emergency shelters. The lead pilot, whose mobile suit was distinguished by the 'horn' antenna on its head, spotted the mostly-white hull of the newest Federation vessel several kilometres from the gate they had entered through. Using their backpack thrusters to control their descent to the surface of the cylinder from its centre, the Leaguers ran toward the ship.

It was at that point they realised the Hell they had entered.

Four red-purple beams lanced out toward the Rhinos at that point, narrowly missing members of the League team. The pilots were stunned for a moment. Beam weapons, being carried by _a mobile suit_?! Even the League's own development facilities were months, if not years from perfecting such advanced technology.

Firing their own machineguns, the Leaguers scored multiple hits on the Gundams, in areas fatal to the Titan and Rhino, the central torso cockpit hatch, and the lower torso, where thick armour protected the reactor housing. A combination of factors made the dozen or so bullets that hit the new Federal MS utterly _useless_.

First was their armour. The Gundam-type was built not with ultra-high tensile steel like the Rhino, or titanium ceramic composite like the Federation's own Titan, but with Luna Titanium. A new alloy based on rare minerals found only found in quantity within the rock of Luna II and titanium, this metal could withstand explosions and physical impacts fatal to other contemporary mobile suits, even warships were not as well defended by their reinforced hulls.

The 'Kinetic Neutraliser' was the second factor involved. These cells within the frame not only produced a luminescence that made the mobile suits appear to have a ghostly aura, but also, and more critically, absorbed kinetic energy from physical impacts and dissipated it as heat energy.

With few exceptions, the Gundams were invulnerable.

Running towards their enemies, the four RGX-79-01 models fired once more, this time hitting a Rhino in its cockpit, killing the pilot instantly. As they got closer the Gundams continued to shrug off bullets, and drew their melee weapons. Each taking a cylinder from the left side of their thruster backpacks, the Gundam-types pressed a small trigger on the cylinder with their left thumbs. This action led to the rapid expansion of a blade of red-purple particles, a beam saber.

The Rhinos, finding their rifles useless, took their long swords from the clips the hilt attached to on the left waist armour in their right hands, and stood prepared for a melee. The lead Rhino made the first attack, making a diagonal slashing movement, attempting to cut through the torso of the Gundam from its left shoulder to the top of its right leg. The sword, two-thirds through its arc towards the armour, was blocked by the beam saber's blade. The steel blade began to fracture from the pressure of the contact, and shattered within seconds.

Stunned, the lead Rhino began to back away, hands now empty, as his rifle was stored on the attachment clip fitted the rear skirt armour. The Gundam he had attacked was far more effective with its weapon. Bringing its left arm back the mobile suit instantly pushed it forward again, putting its particle blade through the cockpit.

Three of the Gundams backed away. Firing the beam rifles they still held they destroyed two more Rhinos; only one now remained, and it was duelling the fourth Gundam.

Stabbing forward, the tip of the Rhino's long sword made contact with the abdomen of the Gundam it was engaging. However, the 'KN System' was, by absorbing the kinetic energy intended to put the metal blade through the fusion reactor, essentially suspending the sword. The Gundam's pilot, annoyed by letting himself reach such a position, dropped his rifle and took the second beam saber from its recharge rack on the right side of the backpack. Slashing with the left hand saber the Gundam cut the sword in half, and with its right hand stabbed the cockpit.

The Rhino team was wiped out completely within five minutes, the Gundams were untouched. A certain League commander was very displeased.

_Bridge, League Fleet Vessel _Voracious_, Close to Space Colony L3/C-242._

_December 24th, PCA 0079. 1717 Hours._

"All five were destroyed?" repeated the commander, questioningly.

"Yes, sir. Should we order _Berlin_ and _Hamburg_ to send in their mobile suits, Major Sanders?" replied the first officer.

"We have awakened a beast, it seems. Order them in, carrying a Type Twelve nuke. That colony is their stronghold; no more colony, no more protection. Do it."

Though he objected to the idea of being part of the force that was responsible for the first ever destruction of a colony, Captain John Prince knew that such an action was a necessary evil in war. In World War Two, the British and German air forces had bombed each other's cities; in this war, it was nuclear-armed warships attacking the innocent colonies, whose only crime was to fly the flag of the Federation.

Within minutes, five Rhinos launched from the hangars of the _Hamburg_ and the _Berlin_, those of the former ship carrying a large coffin-like object. They were carrying the nuclear warhead. The unit from the _Berlin_, with the two unencumbered mobile suits of the _Hamburg_, would escort them into the colony and keep the Gundams distracted for long enough to leave the warhead, activate its five minute countdown and hopefully escape. The plan was reasonably flawless; unfortunately, it relied on the Gundams and their pilots not being able to handle ten-to-four odds, which was a serious unknown.

_Close To The EFSFS _Gabriel_, Inside Space Colony L3/C-242._

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 1735 Hours._

Alexander Williams was nervous. Very nervous, in fact. He and the other three pilots had fended off five Rhinos from the League force, but that left another ten out there, ready to attack. Inside the cockpit of his Gundam he silently waited, hoping they would fall back after seeing the power of the new Federation mobile suits.

For seemingly the billionth time, he studied his cockpit. In front of him was the main console, which contained two display screens and a variety of control buttons, including the generator switches and the deliberately very obvious 'KN System' button. Also in front was the forward visual monitor, which provided a computer-enhanced view of the outside world, transmitted from the main cameras in the head. If he glanced up he could see the upper monitor. To either side of the front panel were another six monitors, providing a complete 180-degree view of the outside world.

To his left and right, running below the monitors, were banks of miniature systems display screens and switches, allowing him to control the functions of the mobile suit that were not handled by onboard AI. Inside from these consoles, at the ends of the cockpit seat armrests, were two control sticks. Similar to those seen in fighter aircraft of the early twenty-first century, the movement of these sticks controlled the limbs and thrusters of the Gundam, as well as its weapons.

          "_Williams, this is_ Gabriel." came a soft female voice over the cockpit speakers. It seemed far too gentle to belong to a soldier, an officer no less.

          "_Gabriel_, Williams here. Go ahead." the young pilot replied.

          "_We're detecting multiple League mobile suits incoming. Your job, along with Ensign Yoshihara, is to escort the ship out of the colony, via the smaller dock at the other end of the cylinder. Johnson and Anderson will handle the enemy here._"

          "Understood, ma'am."

Once again readying for battle, Williams moved his hand toward the 'generator mode select' button panel, pressing the button marked 'active'. The nineteen metre humanoid showed no outward sign of being any more active than it had been before, but the cockpit displays showed otherwise, claiming that the Gundam was at full power. Williams proceeded to set the sensor mode to 'scan', which did cause a visible change. The main sensors - two smaller ones based on the "dual eye" system – lit up, a pair of pale blue jewels in the centre of the Gundam's faceplate.

As it began first to walk, then run forward, light strayed across the V-fin antenna on the front of Gundam's head, above its 'eyes'. The pointed golden antennae shone brightly as the light played across them, unlike the navy blue irregular pentagon at the centre of Gundam's 'forehead', to which the V-fins were attached, which remained its same dull shade.

As Williams, Yoshihara and the _Gabriel_ made their exit, battle commenced at the other end of the colony.

_Inside Space Colony L3/C-242, Lagrange Point 3 Colony Cluster._

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 1751 Hours._

The two Gundams engaging, the Unit-01 and Unit-03, piloted by Richard Johnson and Amie Anderson respectively, found themselves having problems. They had radioed the _Gabriel_ about the nuke and found that they would have to destroy the ten enemy MS alone, without letting them detonate the nuke. This was proving extremely troublesome. The Leaguers were flying within the centre of the cylinder, where the artificial gravity produced by the rotation had no effect.

Beam rifle fire had claimed two so far, but the enemy was forming up around the nuclear warhead. The battle was becoming one the Federation mobile suits could not win.

Four Rhinos chose that point to break formation, and charged the Gundams, rifles spraying them with bullets. Once again, Luna Titanium and the 'KN System' kept them safe. Another two Rhinos joined in a second later, all six spraying the Gundams with 120mm shells from the hundred-round drums on their machineguns. The battle was becoming more and more a no-win scenario, a '_Kobayashi Maru_' as the science-fiction obsessed Yoshihara might say.

Gundam 01 claimed a kill seconds later, as a beam finally tore through the reactor of a Rhino, causing it to explode in a pyre of flame. Though devastating, the explosion's effect on the colony was minimal in the zero-G centre of the cylinder. Accelerating forward, 03's head-mounted vulcan cannons shattered the mono-eye main camera of a Rhino, blinding it before the third Gundam danced behind it and fired a beam through its thruster backpack, causing another explosion.

Within seconds, two things happened. One was the _Gabriel_ signalling its exit from the colony. The other was the retreat of the remaining half-dozen Rhinos. The Gundams pursued them to the spacedock, where they found themselves confronted by the possibility of a warship barrage if they ventured out. Suddenly, the two pilots made a realisation: the nuclear warhead would, by now, be _active_.

Dashing back into the colony as fast as possible, Johnson and Anderson headed for the area their sensors confirmed a major infra-red source, obviously the bomb. When they reached it, they found a display on it, counting down:

**00:00:03****… ****00:00:02****… ****00:00:01****… ****00:00:00**

At that point, it seemed that all the fury Hell could muster had been unleashed. A blinding white ball of light expanded rapidly outwards, accompanied by a tremendous shockwave that tore the colony cylinder in two. The continuing electromagnetic resonance shockwave from the blast shook the two halves further, causing them to break apart where panels had been joined together.

Within minutes, a habitable space colony had become little more than a field of debris. Amongst that debris were the bodies of three million civilians, and two Federation officers. The two Gundam pilots had been killed by the initial pressure wave of the bomb's explosion, which had also trashed the Gundams 01 and 03.

A few kilometres away from this debris, a major in the League Fleet smiled as he saw the remaining mobile suits of his unit return. In a position almost parallel, a Federation ensign was frozen by shock, sadness, anger and hatred, all focused in one direction: the League of Free Colonies.

At that point, Alexander Williams vowed to use Gundam to protect not only the crew of the _Gabriel_, but also to destroy as much of the League as he could. His life did not belong to him any more; it belonged to a cause greater than any one man: revenge.

With the surviving Gundams, the 02 and 04 recovered, Captain Barillas ordered his ship to refuel and resupply the mobile suits and prepare for battle. They had to fight their way through to Luna II, where they could stand alongside whatever remained of their comrades there. But first would come the fight. One ship, with two Gundams versus three ships, with six Rhino mobile suits. The battle could swing either way very easily.

In Williams' mind, though, it would only go one.


	3. Chapter Two: Journey to a Broken Home Fa...

**_Chapter Two: Journey to a Broken Home/ Fall of A Giant_****__**

_Lagrange Point 3 Colony Cluster, Former Colony L3/C-242 Debris Field.___

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 1946 Hours._

          "Sir! Radio contact re-established with Luna Two!" exclaimed the young woman at the communications console on the _Gabriel_'s bridge.

          "Confirmed. Ask of their status, and request reinforcements if at all possible." responded executive officer Thomas Harrison, who was in the captain's chair while Barillas was on the mobile suit deck.

          "Aye, sir."

A few minutes later, the young woman snapped off a respectful "Yes, sir" before closing the line with Luna II. Leaving his position in the centre seat, a position he hated, Harrison walked over to communications.

          "What news, Gail?" he enquired.

          "Sir… the garrison took huge losses, over fifty per cent, before the League made their retreat. Given the nature of our mission and current circumstances, they're sending Mobile Squadron Four, who will arrive within the hour."

Harrison nodded. _Over fifty per cent losses?_He thought. _That one blow may prove costly to us. At least the EOF was unscathed._ This was of little comfort to the XO. He had reasoned that even if Ceres Fleet had taken a serious pounding, the Earth Orbital Fleet, the largest in the Federation when assembled, was still at full strength. Unfortunately, the eight Sector Groups of the Earth Orbital Fleet rarely joined to a single force.

Harrison returned to his chair, where he returned to his musings._ They say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I wonder how our C-in-C will take this._

_Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base, L3 Sector._

_Office of The Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Elizabeth Schenkelberg._

_December 24th, PCA 0079.__ 2000 Hours._

If Commander Harrison possessed any telepathic abilities, he would have been regretting it by this point. Admiral Schenkelberg, the woman who oversaw and had to approve any actions taken by EFSF Operational Command, was furious. So furious, she had called to a meeting all six admirals directly beneath her in the Space Forces' chain of command, the Chiefs of Operations. The seven people now seated in the spacious office, all wearing the black duty jackets of the Federation's flag officers, had the fate of the war to consider.

          "Ma'am, I fail to understand why you deployed Mobile Squadron Four." stated Rear Admiral Ash, in his usual emotionless tone.

          "It is not your place to question me, Ash. However, the reason they were deployed is simple. Our latest warship, carrying our new prototype mobile suits, was involved in a combat action that ended with the League destroying a colony. MS-Four is there to recover them, and destroy those bastards who condemned three million civilians to death." replied Schenkelberg, clearly displeased by the junior officer's insubordinate tone.

          "We've lost two of the prototypes already. If they truly are our salvation in this newborn war, we will need them, and their carrier. And with the League unafraid to use nuclear armaments, we'll need all the equipment and manpower we can muster." claimed Vice Admiral Reed.

The discussion went on these lines for several minutes more, before an ensign from the operations centre informed them over the com system that Mobile Squadron Four had arrived.

_Lagrange Point 3 Colony Cluster, Former Colony L3/C-242 Debris Field.___

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 2008 Hours._

On the portside hangar deck of the _Gabriel_, Alex Williams stood, facing his Gundam. He supposed it was his now, at least until a more qualified pilot arrived from a vessel of Mobile Squadron Four. Jane Yoshihara coughed softly, to indicate that she was behind him. The two stood in silence in front of the Gundam for almost a minute, before Jane asked a simple question:

          "Why?"

Though she had not explicitly said it, he knew exactly what she was talking about. Like him, she didn't understand the butchery that had occurred hours earlier, and claimed their fellow pilots. He turned to face her, seeing that Jane was almost in tears by this point. In a highly uncharacteristic move, Alex stepped forward to hold the other Gundam pilot in his arms, letting her shed the tears she had fought to keep in. They spent what seemed like a lifetime like this. Neither had really kept track of how long it had been for the rest of the world, but it had probably been no more than a few minutes.

The scene was interrupted by an alarm signal. Enemy attack!

Jane lightly whispered in Williams' ear a sweet "Come back to me when this is done" and kissed him softly on the cheek, before parting company to board Gundam 04. Williams, taken aback, blankly stood for another few seconds before moving to Gundam 02. Pushing off in the lack of gravity aboard ship, Alex floated up to the cockpit hatch, before turning and pushing back into the cockpit seat. Pressing a small button right at the inner edge of the right console caused the hatch to close, which brought the front monitor panel and main console into position.

Aboard the _Pegasus_ class carrier _Blue Spectre_, twelve Titan pilots went through a similar process, preparing to launch from their mothership to aid the _Gabriel_. It would be a bloody battle.

_Bridge, League Fleet Vessel _Voracious_, Close To L3/C-242 Debris Field.___

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 2012 Hours._

Aboard the _Voracious_, the arrival of Federation reinforcements had just been detected. The _Pegasus_ class assault carrier and its _Salamis_ cruiser escorts had flanked around them to meet up with their allies, a clever move that left the _Voracious_ and its group facing four enemy vessels, rather than one. The tension between the two sides quickly filled the vacuum of space, as both sides waited for the other to move.

The first move, as it turned out, belonged to the Earth Federation Forces. Under orders from _Blue Spectre_, the cruisers _Romulus_ and _Remus_ opened the firing, launching a four-round barrage with the six missile launchers, three twin-barrelled main guns, and lone single-barrelled main gun that comprised the bow-facing armaments of each vessel. The volley of fifty-six beams and forty-eight missiles proved largely ineffective, as most of the missiles were shot down by AA fire, and the beams were aptly evaded. The few shots that did get through fell mostly on the _Berlin_, which lost a main gun turret, as well as taking damage to the large bow section of the ship.

_Voracious_' commander did not order a return barrage. Instead, the surviving six Rhinos were sent out, all aiming for the _Blue Spectre_. That vessel then chose to lash out itself, firing the pair of twin-barrelled mega particle cannons that had deployed from their protective shells on the sides of the hull. The four huge beams tore right through the _Hamburg_, destroying both its engine nacelles, the bridge, and the 'neck' on which most of its main weapons were mounted. What remained of the once-proud League vessel was consumed by fires and secondary explosions during the following few seconds.

Enraged, the Rhino pilots increased the speed of their move toward the Federal mobile suit carrier, to strike a blow to their enemies. _Blue Spectre_ was in the process of launching Titans, and the ship's two catapults had so far got out four of the dozen mobile suits aboard the vessel. The closest of the four to the Leaguers, the Titan Command type that led the Federation mobile suit group, opened fire on its enemies with its 105mm assault rifle, before three 120mm machineguns unloaded bullets into it, causing it to explode in a pyre of red and white flame.

_Gabriel_ decided to make its presence known, as it opened its mobile suit launch hatches and extended the catapults, preparing to send out the surviving Gundams. Before it did so, it fired the two hyper-impulse positron cannons on the sides of the hull. Releasing two brilliant streams of blue-white particles at extremely high speed, the cannons proved their worth, as they vaporised large sections of the _Berlin_, which found its surviving hull to be nothing more than a battered hulk.

Launch of the Gundams commenced then. Stepping onto the catapult plate, Williams' Unit-02 crouched slightly, before the plate thrust it forward at high speeds. As the plate reached the end of the catapult Williams detached the Gundam, and fired his thrusters to push away from the ship. Yoshihara copied the move seconds later, heading to join the Titan unit.

          "Sir! The _Berlin_ has taken massive damage, she's lost her engines and mobile suit decks, and the heat of those beams has damaged the lower portion of the bridge." reported _Voracious_' radar operator.

          "Very well. Launch signal flares, order the mobile suits back to this ship." ordered Sanders, his tone betraying the anger he felt.

Though they saw the purple 'return' flares launched from the surviving ship of their group, the League mobile suits found themselves unable to leave the combat area. The eight Titans still in operation were keeping them extremely busy, though none of the fourteen mobile suits were likely to fall victim to their opponents any time soon.

A split second later, a Rhino exploded. A mega particle beam had passed right through its reactor, causing it to lose containment and detonate. The beam had come from the barrel of Gundam Unit-04's rifle. Jane Yoshihara was pleased with her second kill, a precision shot indeed. As the five remaining Rhinos scattered, a volley of six yellow-green beams from the 'neck' guns of the _Voracious_ destroyed a Titan, and forced the remainder of the Federal unit to hold back. This cessation of fire allowed the five Leaguers to begin their retreat move, as further fire kept the Federation suits at bay.

Returning to their respective ships, the Federal MS powered down for the time being. The _Voracious_ fired a parting volley of missiles, before retreating, taking a course that avoided Luna II and the EFSF's Earth Orbital Fleet.

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, __En Route__ To EFSF Luna II Base._

_December 24th. PCA 0079. 2344 Hours._

          "Commodore Andes, you're doing _what_?!" exclaimed Captain Barillas, yelling at the image of the older Federation ship commander on the screen.

          "_I'm placing you and your crew under arrest,_ Captain." replied Andes, placing emphasis on Barillas' rank. "_During an operation under your command, the Federation Forces lost two classified prototypes, in combat no less! Not only that, but you placed the survival of your vessel over that of a colony, leading to its destruction! Under EFF regulations, you and your crew are being charged with treason, for allowing a colony to be destroyed, as well as breach of the Classified Objects Directive of PCA Double-Zero Sixty-Nine. You will be escorted to Luna Two by __Mobile__ Squadron Four, where you will be placed in the brig pending trial._"

After finishing listing the charges and giving orders, the commander of the _Blue Spectre_ closed the channel. Barillas was stunned. He questioned the logic behind the decision, but it was not his place in the chain of command to openly do so. The arrest orders had come from Rear Admiral Patrick Ash, the commandant of Luna II himself. Barillas knew that Ash was opposed to the 'Ranger Three' project and mobile suits in general, but this was excessive. The crew of the _Gabriel_ weren't responsible for the destruction of Lagrange Point 3's C-242 colony, the League were! He supposed that all this would come up at the trial, so he continued to piece together the case for himself and his crew.

_Alexander Williams' Quarters, EFSFS _Gabriel_.___

_December 25th, PCA 0079.__ 0004 Hours._

In the room, there was silence. There had been for quite a while now.

The silence was interrupted by a beeping noise. This caused the only occupant of the room to wake from his slumber with a start. Calling out "Just a second!" the room's occupant slid a pair of uniform trousers over his navy blue boxer shorts, and put on a sky blue undershirt. Making sure the trousers were properly fastened, the young man in the room pressed the button that opened the door to his quarters.

          "Merry Christmas, sleepy!" exclaimed Jane Yoshihara, before toppling Alex in a playful tackle that would shame most rugby players. Luckily, the lack of gravity aboard ship prevented Williams hitting the deck in a painfully literal sense.

          "Eh? Oh, it's tomorrow. Merry Christmas." he replied, still barely awake. "Wait… what's so merry about this Christmas? We've been arrested, and as soon as we reach Luna Two we'll be shipped to the brig."

          "I suppose that's true, Alex. Wait, since when did you take such a negative view on life?"

          "Since that moron of an admiral unjustly had us put under arrest!"

          "Calm down, would you? Once Admiral Schenkelberg hears what he's done, we'll be out in no time."

          "I suppose so…"

The two Gundam pilots continued to talk for several minutes, during which Jane's arms remained firmly wrapped around her fellow pilot's waist. With Luna II and trial approaching, both needed all the cheering up they could get right now.

At 0300 Hours, _Gabriel_ reached Luna II, and the crew found themselves being shepherded to the brig, as promised.

_Hearing Room A, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 0930 Hours._

In the main Hearing Room at Luna II, the officers and crew of the EFSFS _Gabriel_ were seated, facing a long table, at which three admirals presided over their trial. The trial had been going on for over half an hour by this point, and it had not been going well for the one hundred and fifty members of _Gabriel_'s crew. Rear Admiral Ash was leading the prosecution case, recounting the details of the events that occurred on December 24th. He informed the court that the _Gabriel_ had retreated into the main portion of L3 Colony C-242, where the League subsequently placed a nuclear warhead. He told the court that this nuclear warhead destroyed the colony and two of the four Gundams, which should not have been in combat anyway.

Taylor Barillas led the defence of his crew, informing the admirals at the front of the court that retreating into the colony was a last resort after League forces began firing on the colony. He reminded the court that the three Titans that had been assigned as a defence contingent had been wiped out, and use of the Gundams was a desperate measure. Despite the valiant defence and epic oratorical abilities of the captain, the case was turning against the crew of the _Gabriel_.

The trial was interrupted by an announcement:

          "Level one battle stations; all base personnel to assigned stations. This is not a drill. Repeating: Level one battle stations; all base personnel to assigned stations. This is not a drill."

That was a _very_ bad sign. If the base's control centre had determined that the situation warranted level one battle stations, it meant that enemy forces had been sighted. The crew of the _Gabriel_ were escorted to the brig; they were not going to be involved this time around.

_Main Control Centre, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 0941 Hours._

          "Four enemy ships sighted, cruiser types!" reported a sensor operator, at one of the many banks of consoles at the control centre. The main screen switched from base status to a live image of the enemy vessels. They could be identified as the League's _Musai_ class, even at their current range.

          "Confirmed. There's only four of them, they'll surely retreat when intimidated. _Copernicus_ group, launch!" ordered Admiral Ash, now at his post in the control centre. The base commandant's orders were quickly relayed to Luna II's main spacedock, where the dreadnought _Copernicus_ prepared to move out.

_Main Spacedock, Launch Gate A, EFSF Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1013 Hours._

The four enemy ships were moving to the perfect position for the ship about to launch. They were approaching the main spacedock's launch gates directly. The Leaguers knew that this would be where the base would send out its defence force. Were any ordinary officer leading the _Musai_ group, they would have stood down instantly had they known the nature of the enemy about to launch. The Federation's dreadnought _Copernicus_  was a fearsome opponent, more so even than the _Magellan_ class vessels of the Federal space fleet. Larger and even more heavily armed than the _Magellan_s, the dreadnought also carried a contingent of twelve mobile suits, something no other 'big gun' warship of the EFSF could claim.

Unfortunately; today was not the _Copernicus_' day to shine. As soon as Launch Gate A began to open, ready for the massive vessel to exit, the four vessels approaching fired a six-round missile barrage at the dock. All two hundred and eighty-eight missiles hit, destroying the launch tunnel completely as _Copernicus_ approached. The massive vessel, unable to stop itself quickly enough, crashed into the wreckage of the dock and was left paralysed, not even able to launch its mobile suits.

The Leaguers, now with an unopposed run at Luna II's main space gate, prepared for their assault.

_Main Control Centre, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1017 Hours._

          "Admiral! The _Copernicus_ has crashed at the gate! League ships are continuing to advance towards the main spacedock!"

          "Damn them! We can't afford to lose whatever else remains of the garrison. Release the crew of the _Gabriel_ from the brig, have them launch immediately with a Titan squad." replied Ash, his cold-hearted orders freezing the control centre momentarily.

With the League rapidly approaching the base, Luna II was desperate. Ash knew this, and believed sending the currently unassigned _Gabriel_ into a potentially lethal conflict the only logical move he could make.

_Main Spacedock, Docking Berth #27, EFSF Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1038 Hours._

Half of the ships of the Luna II garrison had taken damage. Williams could see this as the base monorail brought him toward the _Gabriel_'s berth. Cruisers and battleships were missing gun turrets, had holes in their hulls, were lacking bow sections. Some had even lost their bridge towers, and at least one had a wrecked engine block.

The other half of Ceres Fleet was gone.

When the League had attacked, they had been merciless. Most of the damage inflicted to the surviving ships came from mobile suits, a testament to the combat superiority of the humanoid weapons. It amazed Williams that Rear Admiral Ash couldn't realise the potential of the mobile suit. He couldn't explain it, but it seemed Luna II's commander hated all mobile suits, and hated the Gundams as much as League Rhino types.

Arriving at Berth #27 the crew of the _Gabriel_ disembarked from the monorail and headed for the boarding tunnel, through which they could get to their posts aboard the ship. For the most part, the one hundred and fifty-two people boarding the _Archangel_ class carrier looked the same.

Most wore the standard beige uniform jacket with its black shoulder pieces bearing the rank pins of the officer wearing it, Federal Forces insignia pinned to the left breast, black collar fastened. The uniform was completed by matching beige trousers, bearing a black stripe running down the outside of each leg, a pair of laced black boots, and a beige peaked cap, with an EFSF insignia pinned on the centre of the front section. The only person lacking the black shoulders was Captain Barillas, whose uniform bore red shoulder pieces, a perk given to ship's commanders only.

Two members of the crew wore noticeably different uniforms. The two pilots, Williams and Yoshihara, wore navy blue jackets with white shoulders and white trousers with a navy blue stripe. Williams' jacket was open, revealing the collarless sky blue undershirt he wore.

As the crew boarded, they knew that the only reason they were being sent out was that Ash didn't want to risk any of the remainder of his precious Ceres Fleet, and believed that the _Gabriel_, a ship in assignment limbo was all the task required.

Boarding finished shortly after quarter to eleven. _Gabriel_ was awakened.

_Main Control Centre, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1049 Hours._

Within the control centre, an operator was conversing with the communications officer of the _Gabriel_. The officer in question was giving the ship its orders, though the orders weren't very specific. The carrier, and the dozen mobile suits that were to join it had been ordered to 'drive away League forces approaching Luna II'. Luckily for Ash, Admiral Schenkelberg was waiting in the wings, merely observing his actions. Unluckily for Ash, she was not pleased by her observations.

          "Correct, _Gabriel_. Move to Launch Gate C as soon as you're ready, and wait at the turning point. Once you reach there, dock control will open the space gate and your ship can move out." said the operator, who could hear Gail Macarthur fuming at her post on _Gabriel_'s bridge. Closing the channel, the operator sighed. He disliked the orders as much as she did, he was just doing his job by passing them on.

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, Luna II Main Spacedock- Launch Gate C._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1104 Hours._

Leaving Luna II's dock, the newest Federation vessel entered open space, and quickly sighted the enemy. The four ships were close to Luna II's surface, near the Main Spacedock's wrecked Launch Gate A. They seemed ready to deploy mobile suits into Luna II, if they could find a way to get them in past the crashed dreadnought _Copernicus_.

          "There they are." exclaimed Barillas. "Weapons officer; prepare a warning shot with the positron cannons, don't try and destroy the enemy, just scare them. Deploy mobile suits, ready for combat."

His orders confirmed, Barillas sat back slightly in his command chair. He knew that among his inexperienced crew were several tough officers, who could cope with the naïve younger ones. As the gunner lined up his shot and the MS deck sent out the dozen Titans, the 'Shadow Warriors' squad that had kindly been provided by Admiral Ash, he considered recent events.

_The Luna Two garrison battered; own command almost destroyed, two Gundams and a colony lost; arrested on overblown charges; trial begun; ordered to defend the bastard who wanted me jailed. Interesting few days I've had. Now to top it off, this is the third time I've been in combat in forty-eight hours. That moron Ash better be offering good combat pay for this._

          "Sir? Positron cannons are ready to fire, all our mobile suits apart from the Gundams have been sent out."

          "Hm? Oh, good work XO. Fire the warning shot!" ordered Barillas.

Again, two massive beams emerged from the barrels of the _Gabriel_'s most powerful guns, this time not aiming for a fatal hit, though they did come extremely close to one of the League vessels, one which Barillas and his crew were no doubt very familiar with…

_Bridge, League Fleet Vessel _Voracious_, Close To Luna II's Surface.___

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1109 Hours._

          "That was far too well aimed to be a missed shot, that new ship we faced at the colony is trying to warn us away. Very well, we shall heed their warnings. Order all ships to retreat, and to fire a missile volley to cover our escape." ordered Major Sanders. Like most of the other bridge officers aboard the _Voracious_, he was still trying to blink the afterimages of the enemy vessel's energy cannons from his eyes, with only a limited amount of success. Not wanting to lose any more warships in combat, especially not ones that had only been serving with him for little more than a day, Sanders took the logical course of action and prepared to escape.

The promised volley of a dozen missiles was fired from each of the four ships to cover their escape, eight of them 'blinders', missiles that detonated automatically several seconds after launch, releasing a bright flare. None of the actual missiles scored hits on the Federation vessel, as all of them were shot down either by Titan rifles or _Gabriel_'s own anti-air guns. The Gundams had not even been launched.

Barillas and his ship prepared to return once more to Luna II, where they assumed their trial would continue. Barillas hoped that the absolute moron given the name of Ash would relent and give his ship duty status, instead of simply jailing the crew for actions he personally didn't like. Satisfied as he was with his position as an officer in the Federal Forces, the forty-two year old captain found himself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the flag officers of the Federation, who all seemed obsessed with maintaining an obsolete status quo in a drastically changing environment.

_Hearing Room A, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base._

_December 26th, PCA 0079.__ 1715 Hours._

          "This hearing is dismissed. Admiral Ash, you are to return this crew to their ship _immediately_!"

Nobody in the hearing room had noticed the opening and closing of the doors, as the both prosecutors and prosecuted were in a heated debate over the actions of December 24th. Barillas had been trying to convince Ash that the destruction of the colony was not something that any of the officers on trial could have avoided, and that claiming otherwise insulted the two deceased Gundam pilots who had tried to prevent the destruction. Once Admiral Schenkelberg opened her mouth, however, the whole room took notice.

          "This trial is nothing more than an indulgence of your personal dislike of our mobile suit development plans. The crew of the _Gabriel_, as they have claimed, were not responsible for the destruction of a colony. The League wiped out that colony with a nuclear weapon."

Ash was nothing if not quick to respond. "Ma'am, these officers _allowed_ that colony to be destroyed! They used the Gundams _in combat_! These alone are grounds for imprisonment!"

          "**QUIET**! _I_ am the commander-in-chief here, and the final decision will always be _mine_." exclaimed Schenkelberg, stressing her superiority. "The Gabriel is to be assigned as an autonomous squadron of the Ceres Fleet, under my direct command. The Shadow Warriors mobile suit squadron are also to be assigned to that vessel, along with the two Gundam units."

The most senior officer of the EFSF left the room at that point, her point quite vehemently made. Admiral Ash fumed, but knew he could do nothing but accept the orders given to him.

Barillas wondered how he had got to this point. A newly-minted captain, with a mostly-new crew and a brand-new ship, which carried the two most powerful mobile suits _ever_, was now under the direct command of the Space Forces highest-ranking officer. Hopefully this would prove a good thing.

Williams sat, stunned. It seemed that he and Jane would be combat pilots, part of a newly-formed squadron based around the _Gabriel_. The battles they would be a part of would likely be intense, but he had vowed to use the Gundam to defend his mothership and all those aboard, as well as to destroy as much of the League as he could.

With a mobile suit as powerful as the Gundam, the amount he could destroy with it was an incredible amount.

_Main Hangar Deck, EFSF _Gabriel_, Within Luna II's Main Spacedock.___

_December 28th, PCA 0079.__ 0940 Hours._

In the main hangar of the _Gabriel_, all was quiet, a fact only true to the most deafened of people. From both the portside and starboard decks, ten Titans were being loaded onto the ship, members of the Shadow Warriors squadron. They had been unloaded after the brief encounter with League forces two days earlier, and were now being brought aboard once more, walking onto the deck as trucks carrying their optional equipments and ammunition came aboard through the central docking hatch. On the rear deck a similar process was underway, except that mobile suits and trucks had to share the single launch deck. The half-dozen at the back were all regular model Titans, the vanilla of the Federation's mobile suit forces.

More interesting by far were the mobile suits coming on via the forward deck. In addition to the impressive Gundams were a limited-production Titan Kai, the elite pilot model, for the Shadow Warriors' commander; a pair of Titan Cannon types, to provide fire support; a High Mobility Light Armour type, for rapid assault missions; an Electronic Warfare type, to serve as a mobile sensor platform for squad and ship alike; and finally; a Sniper Custom, for long-range precision fire against enemy MS. The remaining four coming aboard were more regular Titan models, though, like their brethren on the rear deck, their performance was superior to the regular models used by the rest of the fleet by almost twenty per cent.

Among the chaos of loading and trooper-like cursing of the chief mechanic as parts were improperly loaded, Alex Williams sat in the closed cockpit of his Gundam. It was his for definite now, as it had been painted with the Shadow Warriors' black jaguar insignia on the right shoulder, as well as having "A.W." and "01-03" painted in black on the right shoulder. The two letters were his initials; it was Gundam-02 no more, but his own mobile suit. The four numbers represented his squad position. The first half of the numbers indicated that he was part of the First Team, the latter half made him the third of the team's three mobile suits.

Williams was too busy to notice all the commotion around his mobile suit. He was busy modifying the onboard computer to better suit his preferences as a pilot. Test pilots never usually did this, so he was enjoying the personalisation process immensely. Opening the main OS file, he was greeted with a dark blue screen with the EFSF insignia embossed on it. As the operating screen ran its startup procedure, several words appeared letter-by-letter on the screen:

**          RGX-79-01**

**          Guardian Utilities Non-nuclear Defensive Armaments Mecha**

**          (Codename: "Prototype Gundam")**

**          Earth Federation Space Forces**

**          Mobile Suit Operating System version 3.02**

That screen was quickly replaced with one comprising several options, listed in a neat row along the left side of the screen. In the top right corner was a clock, informing Williams that the date and time was 0079/12/28 – 0943. Pressing a button on the right armrest control panel opened out a foldaway alphanumeric keyboard, designed to be used for OS modification.  Williams selected the first option from the list of six displayed, "Movement Systems". From there, he quickly began typing in his personal alterations to the way Gundam responded to his controls and commands, including macros that allowed him to carry out multiple actions via a single button on the left armrest. Despite the fact that most of a mobile suit's operations were carried out by the computer, the pilot was still the essential component of any cockpit, and further simplifying the pilot's duties could only increase their efficiency.

After what seemed an age of typing, deleting, re-typing, and confirming, Williams came to the last of the sets of options and OS operations. Though it was the second of the options on the main screen, Williams had been putting off selecting "Armament Systems" until the rest of the system had been tailored to his exact requirements. Selecting the menu, a sub-menu was quickly displayed. There were only two menus, "Onboard Weapons" and "Optional Weapons". Selecting the first tag, Williams prepared to read through the details.

When the menu opened, it displayed the three weapons horizontally across the screen, with a label above, and a small image below. The three labels were "60mm Vulcan Cannons", "Beam Sabers" and finally "Combat Blades". Selecting the first, Williams was treated to information regarding the weapons.

**Name: HV-03B/60**

**Description: 60mm vulcan cannons**

**Number: Two (linked-fire only)**

**Location: Head-mounted**

**Ammunition Per Gun: 380 rounds armour piercing**

**Information: The HV-03B/60 vulcan cannons are a new model of vulcan cannon, using the 60mm calibre, as opposed to the standard 35mm used in the HV-01 and -02 cannons used in previous EFF mobile suits. These guns, despite being of superior calibre to their predecessors, are still only capable of inflicting minor damage on a mobile suit. The most logical uses for these guns are for suppression fire, main camera destroying shots at close range, and anti-missile operations. Located outside and slightly above the 'dual eye' main cameras, these guns are head-mounted, for ease of use and maintenance access. The trigger to fire these guns is mounted on the right control stick, to the right of the right thumb control/ thruster control button.**

A pair of similar screens accompanied the beam sabers, and the as-yet unused combat blades, two metre Luna Titanium blades held in the side skirt armour, which could be used for close combat as well as, or in place of the beam sabers. The "Optional Weapons" were similarly informative and uninteresting, giving information on Gundam's powerful beam rifle and the unused 380mm hyper bazooka, an unguided rocket launcher intended for anti-bunker and anti-ship operations. There had been a tag for a third weapon, named "Positron Blaster Cannon", but no image had been presented, and a 'No Available Data' error message box popped up in the centre of the screen when Williams tried to access the file.

Returning to the main menu, Williams chose the furthest left tag of four along the bottom of the screen, marked "System Update. Doing so brought up a display of sixty-four red cubes, arranged in eight rows of eight. A second or two later a popup window reading "Now Rebuilding" came up, as the first cube turned green. A few minutes later all sixty-four had turned green, and the popup blinked out, to be replaced with one that exclaimed "System Rebuild Complete". Sighing, Williams switched the OS back to Normal mode via a button on the right side of the main panel screen, which switched the screen to its usual Critical Information view, giving weapons, fuel and damage status, as well as operational status of 'KN System'.

After powering down the mobile suit Williams exited the cockpit and headed for the briefing room, where the Shadow Warriors' commander, one Lieutenant Commander Lisa Hughes-Jones, intended to inform her squad and its newcomers, Williams included, of how she operated and how she intended the Shadow Warriors to operate.

_EFSFS Gabriel Main Briefing Room.___

_December 28th, PCA 0079.__ 1030 Hours._

The eighteen mobile suit pilots of the _Gabriel_ had gathered in the briefing room, as per the orders of their squad commander. The long conference table seated twenty-two, ten on each side, and one at either end. Nine pilots sat along the left side of the table, eight along the other. The eighteenth pilot, Hughes-Jones herself, was standing in front of the 1.5 metre wide plasma display on the wall behind the head of the table. In front of each pilot was a small dossier, containing the non-classified elements of their personal profiles and technical data on the _Gabriel_, the battleships _Bethlehem_ and _Jerusalem_ that escorted it, and data on all the MS types aboard the ship. On the display was technical diagram of the League's frontline mobile suit Rhino, with captions to either side detailing known components of the mobile suit and its armaments.

          "You are all likely wondering why you're here." began Hughes-Jones. "The reason this meeting has been called is to introduce the pilots of the Shadow Warriors, new and old, to one another. The dossiers you have in front of you give information on each other, on the ships of our group, and the mobile suits we all use. Know your hardware and know the hardware of your allies, and you will succeed. In this briefing, we will also go over the enemy's hardware, so we can understand what we are facing."

          The first person to speak was Benjamin Fowl, the pilot of the Sniper Custom and leader of Team Two. "Why bother? Whenever we face an enemy now, they'll swarm the Gundams, and the Gundams will take them apart."

          "You're significantly overestimating the abilities of these Gundams, you know." responded Jane, somewhat annoyed. "Just 'cause they can take bullets they can't win battles alone."

The debates and discussion went on for a while longer, until the time readout on the plasma screen reached 12:00, time to get ready.

_Alexander Williams' Quarters, EFSFS _Gabriel_ Residential Block.___

_December 28th, PCA 0079.__ 1310 Hours._

Jane Yoshihara seemed to have the _worst_ timing of anyone the other Gundam pilot could ever recall meeting. Alex was, like the rest of the crew, changing from regular duty uniform into the highly formal dress uniform to be worn when attending highly formal occasions. The quartermaster's office at Luna II had one that was a perfect fit, unfortunately he was still getting into it.

As Jane walked in, she found the other pilot halfway through fastening his trousers, one of his ever-present blue undershirts maintaining his decency.

          "Ah! You could at least press the buzzer, you know."

          "Sorry, sorry." chuckled Jane. "Just wanted to try and embarrass you a little."

          "Mission accomplished, Ensign Yoshihara."

Deciding to politely ignore his long-time friend, Alex finished fastening the dark blue uniform trousers he was putting on, and began sliding the black belt through. Fastening the silver EFF insignia buckle, he picked up the navy blue jacket and put his arms in each sleeve. Buttoning the jacket, Williams got to sorting out his collar. Unfortunately, fastening the collar wasn't as easy as it looked. Exasperated by her friend's inability to fasten his own collar, Jane pushed lightly off the deck over to Alex, where she proceeded to fasten up the red collar piece.

          "Thanks, Jane. Now I've gotten my own uniform sorted out, I can see you're gunning for 'belle of the ball' award at this pompous ceremony." claimed Alex, finally taking a proper look at his comrade.

She wore the same blue jacket as him, shoulders adorned with the rank pins of an ensign and the matching peaked blue cap Alex was yet to put on, gold trim on both gleaming in the light. The key difference was that Jane had chosen to wear a skirt with her uniform, something the male Gundam pilot was only likely to do when influenced by a vast amount of alcohol. The plain, knee-length navy blue skirt seemed to suit her perfectly. Her black hair flowed freely a short way down her back, and her green eyes almost glowed.

In short, she was beautiful. In the years since their first classes at the Mobile Suit Academy in Antwerp, Williams had never really noticed the fact.  He was stunned at how blind he had been.

          "Why thank you, Ensign Williams." replied Jane, blushing slightly. "You're not looking too shabby yourself."

She wasn't wrong. Now he had finally finished getting into his uniform, Alex was rather dashing. His average length blonde hair was hidden beneath his cap, but his eyes, almost as blue as Gundam's, seemed to burn. Standing five feet eleven he was a good three inches taller than Jane, and was in good physical condition, something vital for piloting mobile suits in space.

Breaking the silence that had enveloped the room, Alex brightly asked "Shall we go?", to which Jane responded with a pleased nod. Alex then realised he had forgotten to put on the black boots that went with the uniform. Sliding each boot methodically over the white socks he wore, Williams proceeded to lace them up, before finally joining Jane to head to the ceremony they were to attend.

_Central Meeting Hall, Earth Federation Space Forces Luna II Base.___

_December 28th, PCA 0079.__ 1310 Hours._

_"_Evangel_" Autonomous Mobile Corps Launch Ceremony._

Within the gigantic Luna II base, the Federation had constructed a meeting hall, built to be of such a scale to match. Literally thousands could be seated in the huge hall, but only a fraction of that number were here now. The one hundred and fifty officers and crew of the _Gabriel_ were in attendance, as were the eighteen pilots of the Shadow Warriors. Also there were the combined one hundred and eighty officers and crew of the _Magellan_ class battleships _Bethlehem_ and _Jerusalem_, the ships assigned to escort the _Gabriel_, and formed the rest of the _Evangel_ Corps.

On the main presentation stage, a woman stood behind a podium. In her own dress uniform, adorned with all the pins and insignia of an Admiral, the tall, brown-haired woman prepared to speak. As she did so, a giant image of her appeared on the house-sized screen behind her.

The woman's voice boomed from the speakers around the hall as she began to speak, her voice instantly silencing any conversations going on in the hall.

          "YOU ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY, OFFICERS AND CREW OF THREE OF THE FEDERATION'S MOST POWERFUL WARSHIPS, TO COMMEMORATE THE LAUNCH OF YOUR SMALL FLOTILLA!" exclaimed Admiral Schenkelberg, her voice tinged with a slight German accent. "THIS AUTONOMOUS CORPS, NAMED '_EVANGEL_' AFTER THE HEBREW WORD FOR GOSPEL, WILL BE THE FIRST GROUP IN OUR FLEET DEDICATED TO WARFARE USING THE HUMANOID WEAPONS WE KNOW AS MOBILE SUITS! CARRYING NOT ONLY AN INCREASED NUMBER OF THESE WEAPONS, BUT THE TWO MACHINES THAT ARE THE EPITOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY, THE 'GUNDAM' TYPES, YOUR FLEET WILL BE PART OF OUR FRONT LINE IN MOBILE WARFARE. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL, MAY YOU BE SUCCESSFUL IN WHEN YOU BATTLE THE LEAGUE! FOR EARTH!"

Resounding applause echoed in the hall. _Evangel_ Corps was alive.


	4. Chapter Three: Baptisms In Hell

**_Chapter Three: Baptisms In Hell_******

****

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, Approaching Lagrange Point 1 Colony A-029._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0600 Hours._

          "We are approaching Colony Twenty-Nine, captain. The sector commander wishes to speak with you, and requests our participation in any actions undertaken by the Rossa Fleet." reported Macarthur, from her console, on the captain's left.

          "Acknowledged. Send Admiral Wallace a reply, informing him that I am willing to meet at his convenience, and that we will submit to Rossa Fleet's authority, if required." replied Barillas.

The captain stood, the magnets in the soles of his boots keeping him on the deck. He took his cap from its pouch on the outside of his chair's left arm, sliding it on from the back, covering his military-cut black hair. At forty-two years old he was one of the younger officers to hold the rank of captain in the EFSF, and his hazel eyes showed little of the jadedness reflected in those of older officers of his rank.

As his captain left the bridge, Commander Harrison stood from the executive officer's station parallel to communications and, with characteristic slowness, occupied the captain's chair. He really did hate doing this, it brought out a paranoid idea that he may be having to take the chair permanently if the captain was killed. A twenty-eight year old, even a highly capable one (modesty was something Harrison lacked), shouldn't be commanding a warship.

Harrison chose to simply survey the bridge, lest negative thoughts consume his conscious mind. In front was the helm, manned by one David Burnett. Burnett was among the quieter of the bridge officers, but was one who could keep his cool even in the toughest situation. To the either side of the helm were the ship's operations consoles, occupied by Donna Angel and Chris Philips, two capable, if young 'console pilots', the amusing term by which operations officers were known. His own XO's station was empty, as there was currently nobody to fill it. Behind was the 'tactical pit', a slightly elevated area just behind the captain's chair where the four weapons and MS control officers were seated, two facing to either of the ship's broadsides, with consoles and quartz displays in front of them, and  a large plasma screen on the aft wall.

The ship slowly entered Berth #4 of the colony's main dock, as hydraulic clamps and docking tunnels extended out to moor it into place. Alongside her, the _Bethlehem_ and the _Jerusalem_ entered their own berths, and locked into place. They were going to sit at the colony and wait, until the inevitable move by the League was made. Only they and the gods knew what that move would be.

Part of Harrison's instinct told him he didn't want to know.

_Bridge, League Fleet Vessel _Enlightenment_, Close To L1 Colony Cluster._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0610 Hours._

_Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 20 Minutes._

Aboard the carrier battleship _Enlightenment_, Major Victoria Gray found her temper to be rising quickly. A slip-up by the mechanics had made necessary the replacement of several actuators in her personal Rhino's left leg. The engineers had committed two sins unforgivable by the Major: inefficiency and stupidity, the things she loathed most in military officers.

Shifting slightly in her command chair, the tall, blonde haired woman adjusted the silver-plated mask she wore, covering her eyes, and a lot of the upper portion of her face, including the bridge of her nose. Through the small eye covers, annoyance could clearly be seen in her deep violet eyes. Nobody knew why she wore the mask. Few had ever asked about it; fewer came back in any condition to forward her answer. The unspoken consensus amongst the crew was that she had been a very attractive woman, but some injury had permanently scarred her, tainting her beauty.

          "A little under two and a half hours to go." she said to the bridge officers, her cold voice hanging in the recycled air. "Soon, we shall see what the Federation's supposedly-mighty Rossa Fleet is made of."

Her vessel was the leading ship in a quartet of _Zanzibar_ squadrons, groups of three _Musai_ cruisers led by one of the larger carrier battleships. Her command was a Special Assault Force vessel, part of the smaller, and more capable branch of the Fleet; the three at her aft broadsides and directly aft were of the Main Battle Force, the 'grunts' of the League. In total, sixteen ships and one hundred and twenty mobile suits came under her control. She intended to lead the MS contingent herself, in her dark violet Rhino Commander type, one of the extremely limited 'S-type' variants. Its colour scheme reflected the major's 'Purple Fox' nickname, picked up based on her rare eye colour and amazing abilities in the simulators, especially at hunting down and finishing whoever opposed her.

The ships under her command were to destroy the Federal presence within L1, with a broad mandate to 'do what is required'. Gray liked this.

_Office of Rear Admiral Robert Wallace, EFSF Offices, Colony L1/A-029._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0615 Hours._

_Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 15 Minutes._

In the office of the Rossa Fleet's commander, Taylor Barillas found himself feeling rather shabby, despite his near-perfect uniform. The office was as if lifted from Victorian England, with elegantly wood-panelled walls that showed signs of being recently varnished, an almost blood red carpet which was completely spotless, a small chandelier-like light fitting in the centre of the ceiling, and large bay windows that opened to a balcony that overlooked the colony's main city. Whether it all served to satisfy the ego of the admiral or not, it was an impressive office. The door faced the windows, in front of which was an oak desk that matched the wall panels, and was adorned with a flat-screen computer monitor, keyboard, and several photograph frames, containing images of Wallace with (at least Barillas assumed) his wife and daughter. The pictures looked to have been taken on Earth, the skyline too expansive to be any colony.

          "Captain Barillas, thank you for meeting with me." Wallace said, welcoming the _Gabriel_'s captain into his office. The superior officer stood, straightening the jet black flag officer's jacket he wore. The admiral wasn't a very tall man, standing around five feet nine, but he was broadly built, seeming strong for his fifty-eight years. His coppery-brown hair was short with a centre parting, accenting his pale green eyes.

          "It would be rude to turn down a flag officer, sir." replied Barillas.

Wallace laughed. "You seem unaware of your position, captain. Being answerable only to Admiral Schenkelberg puts you on a par with any flag officer in the Fleet, regardless of your junior rank."

          "Still, the chain of command…"

          "-is irrelevant, captain. I may be their age, but I'd like to think that being away from the admirals at Luna Two gives me a more modern perspective on the military than the obsolete views held by the senior staff."

          "I'd guess so, admiral. Aside from Admiral Schenkelberg herself, few other flag officers are so… flexible, with the regulations."

          "You're here to aid our Rossa Fleet, from what I can gather. Am I correct?" enquired Wallace, curious as ever.

          "Correct, sir. We will participate in any actions Rossa Fleet executes, but I reserve the right to exercise our mandate as an autonomous unit."

          "Of course. If you believe your flotilla would be more effective somewhere other than where Sector Control orders you, by all means use that mandate of yours."

          "Thank you, admiral. Is that all?" asked a relieved Barillas.

          "That is all, Captain Barillas. Dismissed."

_Jane Yoshihara's Quarters, EFSFS _Gabriel_ Residential Block._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0630 Hours._

_Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 00 Minutes._

          "How, Jane, have you managed to get sick? We've been on a sealed warship for days, everybody else is fine, the rations and water were checked more than we were, yet you are sick. Sometimes you amaze me." exclaimed Alex Williams, sympathy for his long-time friend apparently in very short supply.

          "Well, you know how easily I get sick, Alex. You better than everyone aboard apart from the doctor." replied Jane, her voice lacking its usual upbeat tone.

Alex remained silent for a few seconds. Jane was very right about how prone she was to illness. Every year she had known Alex he had nursed her through a cold, flu, or other bug. One year she had been so severely ill both took quite an extended leave to allow her to recover. Despite this, she was an excellent mobile suit pilot, more capable than most in handling the awesome machines. Like Alex, it was those above-average skills that led to her being assigned as one of four Gundam test pilots, one of two now.

          "So, what's going on in the world outside these quarters?" she asked, trying to brighten the situation.

          "The same old nothing. We're in port at L-One's twenty-ninth colony, there's suspected League activity close by. Nothing the Rossa Fleet can't handle, I'd guess."

How wrong could a pilot be?

_Hangar, League Fleet Vessel _Enlightenment_, Close To L1 Colony Cluster._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0800 Hours._

_Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 30 Minutes._

A door slid open from the hangar's dedicated changing rooms. Major Gray stepped out into the hangar proper, clad in her violet pilot suit, its silver shoulder pieces reflecting the light from the hangar. In her right hand she held the helmet of the suit. She pushed off the deck toward her mobile suit, watching as fellow pilots either waited around for the order to board or sat in their cockpits preparing. Mechanics scurried around the hangar like ants, running final checks, preparing weapons, doing anything to make sure the mobile suits were at their best.

          "Major!" exclaimed one mechanic, a stocky brown-haired man. "My apologies for the earlier error, it was my mistake in checking the-"

WHACK!

A loud smacking sound echoed in the hangar as the mechanic spun back in the microgravity, hands to his reddened left cheek, where Gray had slapped him full force. The action, while not out of character, was still quite shocking to the remainder of the people in the hangar.

          "Idiot! Mistakes like that are not acceptable on my ship, I believed I had made that clear! Next time it happens, your pitiful backside will be kicked out of the bay door by the foot of my mobile suit! Is that clear?" replied an incensed Gray.

She still wore her mask, so the reddening of her cheeks from the outburst was not visible. Gray could feel the heat of them beneath the mask however, feeling ready to collapse as her emotions conflicted. Not only was there the obvious anger, but also guilt. She felt a cold, cruel person for doing such a thing, but knew that such outbursts were needed to maintain the crew's respect, and fear. Such was the emotional turmoil suffered by an Evolved. She would have to return to Lake Aldrin, to see what could be done.

Turning away from the mechanic and the rest of the hangar, she faced her Rhino Commander type. It was built similarly to the regular model, a long but relatively broad torso with a central cockpit hatch; long, thin arms, with inwards facing elbow joints protected by blocky doorstop-shaped armour pieces; a shield mounted on its right shoulder armour, a rectangular piece running down to below the elbow, topped by a curve where it joined to a triangular piece above the arm, the triangle's point facing the head. On the left shoulder armour was a rounded pauldron, on which were three short, thick spikes. The head itself was shaped like one half of a vertically-cut egg, but with a 'muzzle' cooling vent linked by coolant cables to a block on the back of the head, and a track in the centre of the head, running from the front to forty-five degrees off-centre, a blood-red circular sensor on the track, the infamous 'mono-eye' of League mobile suits. The legs were long but relatively wide, with kneecap armour similar to that on the elbows, and feet like ovals, cut off to a flat edge at the back.

The similarities between regular C-type Rhino and her S-type ended there, though. This Commander type, its body painted in violet and purple tones, had the unit leader's 'horn' antenna on its head slightly above the mono-eye track, as well as an entirely redesigned propulsion system. Where the regular model used an ordinary backpack design, with two rotating thruster nozzles at the bottom, this version had four small nozzles, pair mounted one above the other, as well as two large thruster binders. The binders, long, thin wing-like things mounted on pylons that held them slightly behind the backpack were pointed down. The two sections that comprised each binder were separated slightly, to allow the two large thrusters within to spew white-hot thruster flares. Capable of rotating in multiple directions, the binders gave the S-type incredible mobility, compared to other mobile suits.

Other differences manifested in the weapons. The S-type included the chest-mounted vulcan cannons seen in the Wolf but not the production model Rhino, which gave it suppression fire abilities. The custom battle sword stored close on the backpack by the right side binder, rather than on the left waist. This unit also carried a different rifle. Rather than the 120mm machinegun with 100 round ammunition drum used by the grunt Rhino pilots, this model used a high-powered 75mm assault rifle, whose ammo came from a 60 round clip, four spares of which were carried on the side skirts. Finally, the left forearm mounted shield of the Commander type also equipped with a 3-barreled 60mm gatling cannon, fed by an ammunition drum stored on the left side of the shield.

At 0810 hours Gray boarded her mobile suit and gave the order for all other pilots to do likewise. As the front console rose to meet the forward monitor panel, the female ace pressed the generator activation switch. Pressing the monitor button brought online all of her external cameras, filling the six panel display with a view of the hangar and some of the other Rhinos, bordered by status displays. To check the analysis system, Gray focused the mono-eye on one of her comrades. Happy to comply, the computer identified the model and brought up a small window on the front console screen, identifying the MS she was looking at as an LM/MS-06C Rhino, with a rotating three-dimensional image and a small technical profile.

At 0820 hours, the warships moved into position. Ten minutes later, all Hell broke loose once more.

_Earth Federation Space Forces Sector Control, Space Colony L1/A-029._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0830 Hours._

_"Operation Iron Fury" Commencement Time._

The images provided by live camera feeds, coupled with the status displays in the control centre, painted a very ugly picture. The League vessels that had been detected had nuked the intercept squadron from Rossa Fleet, and were now in the process of blasting colonies with nuclear missiles, to prevent Federation ships and mobile suits emerging. It also had the effect of killing three million people per colony. So far, a dozen had been destroyed; thirty-six million human lives with them. Suffice to say, Admiral Wallace was extremely angry. The order was given to deploy the remaining forces of the Rossa Fleet to rally close to A-029, one of the furthest colonies from the League, who were attacking from the L5 side of Luna, either from Lake Aldrin or the asteroid fortress Lucifer.

          "Bring everyone here, NOW!" ordered Wallace. "Contact Barillas aboard the _Gabriel_; order him and his escorts out to meet the enemy's first wave."

As communications technicians scrambled to carry out the admiral's orders, four more colonies and a dozen million more people were claimed by the vacuum of space, casualties of a fortnight old war, already brutal on a previously-unseen scale. Civilian casualties had already reached fifty-one million, an astonishing number even with an overall population of twelve billion in the Earth Sphere.

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, Space Colony L1/A-029 Spacedock Berth #4._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0837 Hours._

_Seven Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

          "Once we clear colony airspace, send out the mobile suits! Tell _Bethlehem_ and _Jerusalem_ to lay down a missile barrage to cover us, main guns when they're in range. Ready all anti-air blocks and missile tubes, prepare to fire positron cannons!" ordered Barillas. He realised he had forgotten something. "All hands, battle stations! Red alert!"

As the orders were executed, pilots scrambled from the changing rooms to the hangar decks, where they were readying their mobile suits.

_Hangar, League Fleet Vessel _Enlightenment_, Within L1 Colony Cluster._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0841 Hours._

_Eleven Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

Making sure the movement selector was set to "Walk", Victoria Gray began moving her mobile suit forward, to the portside hatch. As it left the berth a long cable extended out from its back, an umbilical which provided power while the mobile suit was in the hangar. As it exited the hatch, the violet mobile suit stood at the end of the catapult. Turning ninety degrees right to face towards the bow, the way that the portside catapult ran, Gray detached the umbilical cable, and stood on the launch plates, two tray-like things on which a mobile suit placed its feet, linked by a central bridge.

          "Rhino Commander, Gray unit, launching!" the female pilot exclaimed, as her mobile suit was forced down the catapult at high speed. Detaching a split-second before the end, Gray pushed hard down onto the thruster pedals for a split second, sending her MS bursting forward with white plumes of thruster exhaust spilling out behind it.

At the same time, mobile suits were launching from the other three _Zanzibar_ class vessels and their escorts as well as her own ship, and soon the full company of one hundred and twenty was in open space, split into eight neat groups of fifteen, each of which could clearly be seen were in three groups of five themselves. All accelerating forward towards the rally point of the Federation fleet, the large group found themselves coming to a rapid stop as they detected a vessel _approaching_ them! Their computers brought up an ID window for the vessel, but the class was listed simply as "New EFF Carrier". The vessel was flanked by two others, clearly identified as _Magellan_ class battleships by the Rhino combat computers.

The unidentified Federal carrier quickly began launching mobile suits, as a hail of missiles, then mega particle beams, then more missiles fired from the _Magellan_s.

_Main Hangar Deck, EFSFS _Gabriel_, In Lagrange Point 1 Space._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0846._

_Sixteen Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

          "Deal with it, Yoshihara. Millions of lives depend on this operation, quit whining about your little cough!" retorted Hughes-Jones, as the Gundam pilot complained of her illness.

          "Yes, ma'am." Yoshihara replied, bitterly.

Boarding her Gundam, whose shoulder armour bore the initials "J.Y." and the unit number "02-03", Jane powered up the mighty mobile suit, ready for battle. Alex appeared on the small communications screen atop the front monitor to give her a thumbs up and a "Good luck". She'd need it.

_Lagrange Point 1 Space, Between Colony L1/A-029 and League Forces._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0850 Hours._

_Twenty Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

In the void of outer space, battle was joined. Supported by the rapidly approaching MS of the Rossa Fleet, the Shadow Warriors dug into the League mobile lines, 105mm rifles firing as they accelerated forward. Several of the Shadow Warriors mobile suits hadn't jumped into the fray, however. Four were behind the main line, carrying out other tasks. Two Titan Cannon types were providing support fire, bombarding the enemy suits with the pair of 240mm cannons over their shoulders, attached to a modified backpack. The Electronic Warfare type was hanging back also, using the large sensor array on its left arm to keep a constantly updated picture of the battlefield. Finally, Fowl's Sniper Custom was at the back, using its communications link with the Electronic Warfare type's sensors to keep a clear view of the combat zone, and the optics of both its own head unit and the high-velocity 90mm sniper rifle it held.

Lisa Hughes-Jones found herself engaged in a duel with a Rhino. Its 120mm bullets were getting nowhere near the armour of the incredibly rare Federation MS, but the 140mm shotgun shells being sent back were proving to be similarly inaccurate. This was annoying Hughes-Jones.

          "Come on you bastard, die!" she exclaimed, firing another shot from her mobile suit's assault shotgun. The powerful, if slow firing weapon was only used by the Titan Kai, it was an ace's weapon.

This time her shot hit, and tore the left leg of the Rhino off at the knee. The jolt through the League mobile suit off balance for a second, which was all the time the Shadow Warriors commander needed to fire again, her shot hitting the Rhino's torso dead centre. The shell breached the armour of the cockpit before exploding in a hail of shrapnel, killing the pilot and fracturing the torso of the mobile suit. A second or so later the reactor housing collapsed, partially crushing the nuclear fusion reactor at the centre of the assembly. The reactor exploded seconds later, vaporising what remained of the mobile suit.

Another Rhino exploded a moment later, as a precision 90mm round breached its own reactor. Fowl was pleased with his own accuracy. As he attempted to line up his next shot, a rocket fired from a Rhino's 280mm bazooka narrowly missed his right leg. Fowl ditched the sniper rifle and took the 90mm submachine gun from his suit's left thigh, ready to fight his new enemy. Another inaccurate rocket gave Fowl some idea of where his attacker was, allowing him to respond with a burst of gunfire. Extending the close combat blade on his right forearm, the Shadow Warriors' sniper made sure he was ready for whatever his enemy decided to do next.

The Gundams were in a difficult situation. A full team of five Rhinos were pursuing them, machineguns firing. Most of the bullets were being taken by the shields on the left forearms of the Federal mobile suits, but their beam rifle fire was failing to score hits on the Leaguers. One Rhino charged at Yoshihara's unit, machinegun firing a constant volley at her, sword drawn for close combat. Storing the beam rifle on her right thigh armour Jane took a beam saber in her Gundam's right hand, firing a burst from her head vulcans to distract the enemy. Aptly evading the low-calibre fire the Rhino pilot tossed away his rifle, before beginning to bring his sword down toward the Gundam's shield.

The sword's blade sliced into the upper edge of the shield, tearing a groove a short way down toward the centre. Ejecting her shield Yoshihara backed away, once again firing vulcans to cover her move. The Rhino pilot, left stunned by the fact of his sword being embedded in a useless shield, was totally unprepared for the particle blade of the Gundam's beam saber impaling his cockpit.

Angered by his comrade's death, one of the four remaining pilots broke off from failing to damage the other Gundam to fight the one that had claimed another Leaguer's life. As his former opponent sped toward Jane's now-shieldless Gundam, Williams pulled his rifle sights from the new Rhino that had come to fight in favour of the one heading for Jane. The two dotted yellow circles of the rifle camera's sensors slowly converged, until they formed a solid red one, with crosshairs marking the centre. Alex squeezed the trigger.

A red purple beam sped across space from the barrel of the rifle. The Rhino it was aimed for didn't stand a chance. The beam impacted at the right hip, lancing through to just below the left shoulder joint. The reactor breached and cockpit vaporised, the now-useless Rhino exploded a scant two hundred metres from Yoshihara's Gundam. Throwing Alex a quick "V for Victory" sign with her mobile suit's left hand, she quickly returned to battle.

It was at this point Alex realised he still had a Rhino on him. The realisation came when a 280mm rocket hit the torso just above the cockpit hatch. Even though in terms of actual effect the rocket was no more damaging than a 120mm round thanks to the Luna Titanium armour ('KN System' was no use against explosives), the fact that he had let himself be hit annoyed Williams no end. Raising his left arm Williams pointed the missile launchers in his shield at the Rhino and depressed the trigger on the left control stick. Two missiles fired from each launcher, four of the six in the Gundam's shield. Ironically given their name, the quartet of missiles completely missed the Rhino. The manoeuvre it had made to avoid by dodging left, however, put it at the centre of the overpowered Federation mobile suit's rapidly-forming lock-on reticule. The trigger was squeezed once more. Nothing happened.

Checking the status indicators on the front panel, Williams found that he had drained the twenty-five shots worth of energy in the rifle's energy capacitor, mostly on shots that missed the enemy. Annoyed, he threw his rifle to his right and drew a beam saber, igniting the blade with the switch close to the end of the cylinder. The Rhino pilot fired another round from his bazooka before abandoning it and taking his sword in his right hand. The rocket was easily evaded by the Gundam, which began closing the distance between them rapidly.

The first attack was made by the Rhino, whose sword came down on Gundam's shield. The blade's edge made a small gouge in the centre of the rectangular piece of Luna Titanium, but had little other effect. The Gundam swung its shield arm back, so forcefully it tore the right arm of the Rhino out of its shoulder joint, leaving the arm and sword still attached to the shield of the Gundam. Williams swung the right arm of his suit back before quickly bring it down, slicing the torso of the Rhino vertically in half.

Federation warships were rapidly joining their allies, firing missile barrages toward the League vessels. So far two _Musai_ cruisers had been sunk, as had a Federal _Salamis_ cruiser. Unfortunately, a League mobile suit attack on the Federation's left flank had left several vessels exposed. One of the _Magellan_s in the area launched a blue 'Help!' flare, to signal its need for aid from allied mobile suits. Two Titan squads broke the battle line in order to assist, and eventually succeeded in destroying the thirteen Rhinos that had got through. Unfortunately, they had succeeded in destroying two of the Federation's battleships and five cruisers without losses, a figure that appalled the Federal commanders.

Benjamin Fowl found himself having difficulties with his opponent. It had been decapitated by 90mm fire and was now without its left arm, but he wasn't in much better condition. His Sniper Custom lacked its right leg and left forearm, both claimed by his opponent's sword. Parrying another slash with his combat blade, Fowl swung his left arm round to punch the League MS' cockpit hatch, which shook the pilot. His enemy momentarily stunned, Fowl plunged his blade into the cockpit, a small gush of blood and dismembered body parts confirming that the pilot was well and truly dead.

          "Idiots! These losses are unacceptable, we need to do something quickly." complained Gray, angered at the losses being taken by her first operational command.

The female League ace quickly led a charge forward with the four mobile suits that comprised the rest of her team, heading for the members of the Condor squad currently in the field. In a matter of minutes 120mm fire and expert swordplay had claimed six Titans, the rest of whom had quickly escaped.

          "_Gabriel_ Control, this is Williams. Please send out a spare rifle, I kind of lost the empty one."

          "_Confirmed, Williams. Try not to lose more equipment, the stuff your Gundam has looks pretty expensive!_" replied the chief mechanic, admonishing the first of the two Gundam pilots in a semi-joking manner.

A spare rifle was indeed launched on an equipment pallet from the _Gabriel_'s portside catapult. Jane's Gundam was landing on the starboard deck at the same time, in need of refuelling. Dashing out again, Williams found that the Aurora squad were under attack from a Commander type Rhino and its team, and needed help desperately. Accelerating quickly toward the location of Aurora squad projected on the monitor, Williams was amazed at what he saw. The Commander type, easily distinguished from its allies, was tearing apart the suits from Aurora almost by itself. A shot from his rifle claimed another Rhino, which was carelessly backing away after destroying a Titan Cannon type.

A zoom window popped up on Victoria Gray's right-hand monitor, displaying an MS vastly different from those she had been mercilessly picking off. Painted not in the Federation's standard pale blue with white limbs, this model was dark blue with gray limbs, had two pale blue 'eyes' instead of the 'goggle' camera common to Federal MS, and had a very different rifle to the Titan. A label popped up below the image, bearing the simple caption "Ranger Three MS".

          "There it is! The invulnerable bastard that carries a rifle with the power of a battleship cannon! Well, let's see how you fare against a real opponent!" exclaimed Gray, ready to fight. She had no idea how she could defeat the Gundam, but she knew she'd try.

_Bridge, EFSFS _Gabriel_, In Lagrange Point 1 Space._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0938 Hours._

_One Hour, Eight Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

          "How many now, Gail?" enquired Barillas, solemnly. The communications officer was unwilling to respond. "How many, Ensign?"

          "Sir… a total of ninety-two colonies have been destroyed by this point. Two hundred and seventy-six million civilian casualties." replied the distraught communications officer.

The bridge was silent. Over a quarter of a billion lives had been lost after _one hour_ of combat, the League showing how willing they were to sacrifice Federation civilians to force the surrender of the Earth-based government. Barillas had a simple response.

          "Signal the admiral. Request authorisation to retaliate with nuclear arms."

The young ensign attempted to contact the operations centre at colony A-029, but found herself unable to make a connection. She scanned over the list of lost colonies, and found the source of her problem.

          "Captain, the Twenty-Ninth Colony has been destroyed. Admiral Wallace and Sector Control have been wiped out."

          "Very well then. In that case, load the ship-to-ship missile launchers with nuclear missiles, fire at the League formation on my command." a set of affirmative responses were received from the weapons officers, before a shocked exclamation came from the mobile suit operations officer.

          "Sir! Williams' mobile suit is engaging a purple Rhino Commander type!"

          "What? Harrison, check for references on that mobile suit!" ordered Barillas, clearly concerned. If an S-type was in the field, it was surely being piloted by an ace.

          "Found it, sir." responded Harrison, after searching through the database. "Intelligence indicates that this unit is referred to as the Purple Fox, a League pilot named Victoria Gray. She has the highest simulator combat ratings Intelligence know of."

The bridge crew were worried. Not only were they about to nuke the enemy fleet, but an enemy ace was trying to destroy one of the Gundams. In their minds, they crossed their fingers, some silently prayed. This battle was going to be more devastating than they had imagined.

_Combat Encounter Zone, Within Lagrange Point 1 Space._

_January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0951 Hours._

_One Hour, Twenty-One Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury"._

Alex Williams was mentally singing the praises of the Kinetic Neutraliser and of Luna Titanium. His mobile suit was being peppered by alternate bursts of 75mm bullets from the purple Rhino S-type's rifle and 60mm fire from its shield-mounted gatling. The seven beams he had fired had all missed so far, doing nothing but waste energy. Williams quickly realised that he had no chance of beating the Rhino at range, the pilot reacted too quickly and took full advantage of the suit's agility. Williams wondered how a human could tolerate the stresses that such extreme manoeuvres must be placing on their body.

Williams fired one last beam, another miss, before once more drawing his beam saber. Charging the Rhino he swung at it with the particle blade, but Gray had already dived back, and responded by swinging her suit's right leg, kicking the Gundam in the face. Gray took the time while Gundam was off-guard to attach her rifle to its rear skirt mount, and drew her custom battle sword. The blade was longer and thinner than that of the regular Rhino's melee weapon, and was fabricated from titanium instead of the regular steel. As the Gundam realigned itself and prepared once more to fight Gray charged it. Williams stabbed forward toward the Rhino's head, but a quick duck and dodge move by Gray allowed the plasma blade to pass right above her suit's spiked left shoulder armour, which she proceeded to drive into Gundam's torso. A horizontal slashing attack with her own sword cut off the upper section of the Federal MS' shield, a minor blow, but an important one no less. The Gundam fired its head vulcans, trying to do some damage to the Rhino's torso. Feeling slightly threatened by the 60mm bullets, which could do damage at such close range, Gray fired the pair of chest-mounted vulcans of her own MS before backing away.

          "You're nothing, Feddie. The only thing keeping you alive is that superior machine of yours!" exclaimed Gray, trying to intimidate her opponent.

Williams raised his now slightly smaller shield, firing the two remaining missiles at the purple Rhino. The pilot, unprepared, quickly raised the gatling shield on her left arm, which was badly damaged by the missiles. Cursing the Federation pilot, she charged once more.

The Gundam took another vertical swipe with its beam saber, which was blocked by the flat of Gray's titanium sword. The physical blade held for a spilt second before the particle-based one bisected it, rendering the blade essentially useless. Abandoning the remainder of her sword Gray threw a punch at the Gundam's right hand, sending its saber drifting away in space. As the Rhino backed away, covering its retreat with fire from its gatling shield and rifle, Williams took the beam rifle in the Gundam's right hand once more, left hand taking the extended horizontal grip for stability. A red-purple beam tore through the void, taking the left arm clear off the Rhino.

          "You were lucky, Feddie. Next time we meet, that suit of yours will be debris like the comrades of mine you've stolen away from me!" With those parting words, Gray began her return to her vessel. The Gundam's pilot, momentarily shocked by the words, returned to combat, where the League were in retreat.

White light filled Williams' monitors, and would have blinded him were it not for the filters built into the camera system. Two covers had lowered over the cameras when the light exceeded that tolerable by the main visual sensors, and retracted after a second or so. To an outside observer, it would appear Gundam had blinked. Williams turned to face the main battlefield. From what he could gather, both sides had launched nukes at the same time, and the detonations almost coincided. All but five of the League ships still in battle had been destroyed, but their nuclear missiles and those of their comrades had destroyed a further nineteen colonies, as well as most of the Rossa Fleet's right flank.

The surviving Leaguers began a retreating manoeuvre as soon as they had recovered the sixty or so surviving mobile suits, most of which used the magnets in their feet to hold themselves on the outer hull of the ships that had recovered them. Victoria Gray cursed, her taskforce largely destroyed, its mission not fully accomplished. Most of the Rossa Fleet was gone but not all, and the destruction of one hundred and eleven colonies, almost a fifth of the cluster, had not forced their enemies to surrender.

Alex Williams was disgusted. The League had wiped out a vast portion of the Federation fleet at L1 as well as dozens of colonies. Barillas, now the de facto commander of the surviving forces, led them towards Earth to meet the Earth Orbital Fleet's Sector Group Two, who had contacted the _Gabriel_ to offer repairs and resupply from their base at the relatively small asteroid of Third Luna. It had been bloody, and nobody had won. Three hundred and thirty-three million civilians had definitely been losers this day.


End file.
